SpiralVision - A New Chapter

Hi there!

I hope you had a wonderful weekend. My weekend, and really the past few weeks, have been extremely busy. Things have since slowed down which has now allowed me time to make new blog posts! Today I wanted to make a quick blog post to share a SpiralVision video with all of you! Click on the play button below to watch the video. Thank you all again for all of the support you've shown us! Let's continue making the community the best place to be. :)

Wizard101: St. Patrick's Day Event 2019 - Sunday, March 17th

Hello Wizards!

I hope all of you have been having a great month! This year has been flying by. I can't believe that we're already nearing March! With that, I've decided that today (about a month before St. Patrick's Day) would be a great day to announce our first event of the year - our St. Patrick's Day event!

When?

Sunday, March 17th

4:00 pm Central / 5:00 pm Eastern

Where?

Ravenwood, Leprechaun Realm
(Multi-Area Event)

Official Stream?

https://www.twitch.tv/spiralvision

Spread the word! I hope y'all are able to make it to our first event of the year. Dye your gear green and wear all green if you think you'll be able to attend. In the meantime, I'm going to prepare for our 4th Annual Bunny Run + improve the quality of our streams. I'm planning on purchasing a new microphone and hopefully switching up our streaming software. I am hopeful that this year will be a great year! Thank you all again for your support. Until next time, I'll see you around the spiral. :) 

Wizard101: Valentine's Art Contest Winners!

Hello Wizards!

Today I'm happy to announce the winners of my recent Art Contest. I'd like to thank our awesome community manager for giving me codes to giveaway to the winners of this contest. Congratulations to all three winners - and thank you all for putting so much hard work into your art.

1st Prize: Sophia Dreamcrafter

15,000 Crowns + Lovely Leopard Pet

2nd Prize: Sofia Firewalker

10,000 Crowns + Lovely Leopard Pet

3rd Prize: Kaitlyn Miststone

5,000 Crowns + Lovely Leopard Pet

Congratulations to the three winners above! You did an amazing job. Thank you for following the rules of including a well-drawn drawing + sharing your love for the game & community. Thank you all for putting so much work into your drawings. We truly have amazing artists in the community. I hope all of you a Happy Valentine's Day! Until next time, I'll see you around the spiral.

Check Back Tomorrow (2/10/19) for a Video Of Honorable Mentions

Wizard101: Group Questing In Dragonspyre - Week 2

Hello Wizards!

I apologize for not posting as many group questing updates as I have in previous months. Today I have a new group questing update for all of you. We have recently started questing through Dragonspyre! I must say after the past few weeks, it was nice to stream & quest again!

As of late, we've made our way through the first few areas in Dragonspyre - The Tower of Archives, Plaza of Conquests, The Grand Chasm, and we've just started questing through The Drake Hatchery! It's crazy to think that we're nearing the end of the first story arc. It has truly been a lot of fun questing with this group - and having new friends join us on our adventures as we continue to progress through each world.

I look forward to continuing these streams throughout this year. It's going to be awesome to see how far we get by the end of the year. My guess is that we'll be at least level 90 by the end of the year if we continue questing like we have been. Anyway, let's talk about where we ended up this week and the next time you can join us on our questing adventures.

Quest: "Enter The Dragon Rider" in The Drake Hatchery

Optional Tasks: Complete All Side Quests

Our Next Questing Stream

Tuesday, March 5th

6:00 pm Central / 7:00 pm Eastern

https://www.twitch.tv/spiralvision

We hope to see you at one of our future questing streams. I'll keep all of you updated as we continue to make our way through each world. Feel free to join us whether you're near the same level or max. Everyone is welcome to join. Thank you all so much for reading this group questing update post! Until next time, I'll see you around the spiral. :)

My Original Roots

Hi there!

Today I was thinking about this website. Years ago, Around the Spiral was the go-to place if I had something on my mind. I remember days when I was sick & I'd announce it here. From there, I'd post about the various things I did throughout the day - such as watching Wizard Weekly or farming for a pet that I thought looked cool. These days were actually my favorite blogging days. :D

The years since then have flown by! With time, this website also changed. I actually remember making blog posts but not knowing how to take a screenshot. Fun Fact: It took me nearly two years to figure out how to take a screenshot in-game. I had no use for screenshots for my first year because I never had a blog. After asking around, I finally figured out how to take a screenshot. I remember taking my first one in the Massively Fantasy Palace on my death wizard, Edward Deathgem. Sadly I've since lost my screenshots in time. However, shortly after, I started posting screenshots of the game on this blog for a place to collect all of my memories.

Some of these screenshots included pictures of the Diary of a Wizard events (you can see the one above from June 25, 2011). Diary of a Wizard was an old fansite that would host an event with other fansite owners to bring many thousands of people together for a time to celebrate both their Birthday and the community. These were actually my favorite type of memories up until our group questing streams. I made new friends during these & started posting about our group questing adventures in September of last year. 

So I'm sure many of you are wondering what the point of this post is. I'm kinda wondering the same thing! Really, I just wanted to thank all of you for letting me make so many memories. While there are crazy times, they really can't compete with the good times that I've had & will continue to have. I look forward to making so many new blog posts this year. Who knows, maybe I'll post when I'm sick again & make random blog posts throughout the day. Wait... Okay, now watch me get sick. :P I better not! Well, I guess you'll be the first to know if I do. Anyway, thank you all so much for supporting the sites, events, streams, and everything. It truly means the world to me & I look forward to making this year the best year yet! Thanks all for reading. Until next time, I'll see you around the spiral.

SpiralRadio Event: February 7th

Hello Wizards!

I hope you're having a wonderful start to your week. We all know Mondays can be a drag, but keep reading because I have news that will lift your spirits. SpiralRadio's Stephen Spiritcaller & Christina Icedreamer will host a Friendship Festival event this upcoming Wednesday!

When?

Wednesday, February 7th

8:45 pm Central / 9:45 pm Eastern

Where?

Nightside, Vampire Realm

https://www.twitch.tv/spiralradio101

They've announced that they'll have prizes & will also talk about the future of their amazing podcast/fansite. Speaking of SpiralRadio.. Did you know that it was originally called Ravenwood Radio and premiered nearly 10 years ago - this October? That's dedication. I can't wait to attend their event! Spread the word to your friends if you haven't already.

The Next Chapter

Hello Wizards and Ahoy Pirates!

Today, I wanted to talk a bit about a new path I've decided to take. For years Around the Spiral has been an official fansite whether it was for Pirate101 (2012) or Wizard101 (2018). I appreciate all of the support that Kingsisle has shown this site and I will say right now that I'll continue to support Kingsisle as they continue to make all of their games the best that they can be.

I was not expecting to make a post about returning within a day after officially deciding that I would leave. I've received so many heartfelt messages from friends throughout the community. Autumn & I have officially decided that we will continue having events & streams. We would like to put whatever has happened behind us by moving forward to continue doing great things for the community. There will, however, be a change in how we promote events. Please keep that things have changed, so everything will be different. One way we've decided to move forward is promoting important event information by following SpiralVision on Twitter & Twitch, which you can find links below. You may also view upcoming events page by clicking on the "Events" tab above.

Twitter - @thespiralvision

Twitch - https://www.twitch.tv/spiralvision

The accounts below will provide all important information that you need as we continue to progress through the year. I would also like to let everyone know that we will still have events throughout the year - such as the Bunny Run, Holiday Mashup, Halloween Run, and Santa Run - and potentially new Pirate101 Events. Please keep in mind that the events will be different from what they were since we no longer have official Kingsisle support. We still plan on making these events a lot of fun for everyone that is able to attend.

Other than codes & promotion - these events will still be what they always were. Our plan is to keep these events family-friendly, inclusive, and overall fun. I also want everyone to know that I still respect the hard work that Kingsisle puts into the games to make them better. Thank you again, Kingsisle, for giving me a chance to be an official fansite owner. Today, we're starting the next chapter. I hope all of you can join us for this new chapter. Thank you all so much for reading. Until next time, I'll see you around the spiral.

Join us on February 16th for a Friendship Event

http://www.edwardlifegem.com/2019/02/friendship-event.html

Friendship Event (Canceled)

Hi there!

A few days ago I announced that I was parting ways with Kingsisle & the community. Yesterday was one of the roughest days I've had in quite some time. While Wizard101 & Pirate101 are online games, I believe I've made the community a major part of my life.

I first joined this community when I was 16 years old. I will be turning 26 in July. I do have a life outside of the games & community, but this community was still a major part of my life. I've made friendships that have lasted nearly a decade. While it seems easy to leave all of that behind, it truly isn't, especially leaving on bad terms. I don't want to leave on bad terms with all of my friends who have supported this website, our events, and our streams. I would like to have one final event with all of you who truly support what we've done for the community. More information:

When

Saturday, February 16th 

3:00 pm Central / 4:00 pm Eastern

Where

The Commons, Greyrose Realm

I will not stream this event. I'd love to know some of your favorite community & in-game memories. I have so many fun & funny memories I'd love to share with all of you. You have no idea how much my life has changed (in a positive way) because of the kindness you have shown to me. If you aren't able to make it to this event, that's fine. I love all of you. Thank you so much for reading.